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Welcome to the Blog Center of solarwindowheaters.com. This maybe your first post. Please join in and showcase your solar air heater project to the world. Click on Register to Join…
Greetings Fellow Solar Enthusiasts,
My name is Karlee Blank and I’m a student at Columbia University (CC ’12) studying Political Science and East Asian Languages and Cultures. I became interested in solar technology when I heard about the Joru Foundation’s Sengdruk Taktse school. Essentially, it is a school devoted to the education and care of nomadic orphans and under-privileged children. It is located in an ethnically Tibetan region of China’s Qinghai province, but geo-politically outside of Tibet proper.
While taking an introductory Tibetan Civilization course, my professor (Professor Gray Tuttle) extended to our class an opportunity to teach Tibetan students English in western China. The teaching placements were long-term positions (12 months+), but I was inspired to help, nonetheless, and asked my professor about other non profits/opportunities he knew of. He sent me a list of about 20 different organizations, and after contacting those who looked appealing and analyzing the opportunities at each, I settled on the Joru Foundation’s Sengdruk Taktse School.
Originally, I intended to just teach an English class at the school. However, upon further discussion with the school, I realized that I could have a more substantial overall impact on the school if I refocused my objectives to something sustainable, and lasting. Students can graduate and be impacted by different teachers, but technology that is worthwhile and reduces environmental impact can last decades, and provide a true benefit to all of the students at the school.
The only problem was funding. I, the quintessential poor college student, couldn’t on my own pay for the trip. Asking my parents for the funds was also out of the question: my Dad had been out of work for nearly ten months with cancer-related complications, and my mom, a nurse, wasn’t able to work during this time because he had a bone marrow transplant and needed a sterile environment with people who were healthy and weren’t bringing home the germs of a hospital.
After looking into funding opportunities, I applied for and received a Weatherhead East Asian Institute Undergraduate Training Grant to help fund my venture. At first, I intended to use the funds to build a green house. However, the school looked further into the venture and decided that trying to decrease their coal consumption (which they use for both heat and electricity generation) was a more pressing issue than increasing vegetable consumption for the students.
So, I turned my sights to solar technology. Being a humanities student who considers herself to be relatively illiterate in the domains of engineering and high technology, I underwent an extensive period of research. Every solution looked promising to me! PV panels, thermodynamic panels, solar water heaters, and more! Now that I knew a little about these very different technologies, I encountered my first barrier: what technology should I choose? Fortunately, I had a summer internship at Columbia’s Center for Technological Innovation and Community Engagement that partially focused on green development. With guidance, I realized that my original plan of thermodynamic solar panel installation, that connected into the central heating system at the school was far beyond my abilities (the installation, connection, etc.). I had to look into other technology.
From there, I turned to portable PV systems, that could be left out and connected to an electric space heater, like those that Vornado makes. However, upon realizing how inefficient these electric space heaters were, and finding out that I would need close to $10,000 worth of PV panels to work even just three of these units (10 TIMES my entire solar budget!), this plan also fell from favor. Another substantial limitation was Tibet’s harsh climate. Sure, it’s the “Rooftop of the World,” and has excellent solar access, but it also has a rainy season and is considered the “Land of the Snows!” Outdoor technology seemed like it degrade too quickly, and the solar panel manufacturers I spoke with said that their panels’ warranties were invalidated if I brought the technology out of the states. Out the window went that plan!
Feeling a little discouraged, I finally searched “Solar-Powered Space Heaters” and had a bit more luck. This technology was more affordable, and looked easier to install and maintain. I strongly considered a solar-powered space heater that connected to the outside of a building and provided heat using a fan that circulated the produced heat. However, I encountered yet another problem. I had never been to the school, and didn’t know if it was possible to drill the necessary holes into the walls of the school, or how school officials would feel about having large modules hanging off of their building (the school was built on sacred land and I didn’t want to disturb the image and serenity they created). From there, I looked into window units, specifically ones that could be hooked to the inside of windows and had a more-or-less one size fits all sort of design since I didn’t know the dimensions of south-facing windows, or their overall schematics.
I contacted and received responses from several companies who weren’t exactly inclined to help the humanitarian sector, admitting occasionally that they were profit-driven enterprises and could not be flexible at all in the cost of the systems. Perhaps the “best” (I say this with sarcasm) response I received was that a company who-shall-not-be-named didn’t believe in shipping overseas because it negated any benefit that the solar technology would have (I guess they didn’t think their technology would offset a great deal of carbon emissions), thought that my project should be more low-tech, and that I shouldn’t have received a grant to pursue the technology because the school should be able to do this for itself. However, the company did end the email with “Everything you do counts!” which I guess was a nice touch.
Needless to say, I was rather discouraged and began questioning my project… what if no company could 1) ship the materials abroad, 2) sell me the technology knowing it was going to China, or 3) simply did not want to help? This was my figurative point of no return. I had to buck up and pay for some of the technology out of pocket (which I had no problem with, because I truly wanted to help out), or refocus my project to something else, maybe back to my original plan of a green house. I looked into receiving a humanitarian airfare through Fly For Good to reduce my airfare, hoping put the funds I saved on airfare towards getting the technology. Unfortunately, this was a dead-end; there weren’t any available humanitarian fares to China. I was going to have to find a less expensive product.
From the get-go, I was very interested in solarwindowheaters.com’s model 2032 aluminum heater. It looked simple to use, and was priced so that I could afford to purchase a few units. It was then that I (so thankfully!) received a very promising email from Solar Window Heaters’ sales department. The president of the company wanted to talk to ME, a customer who was bringing the technology overseas, had a relatively small-scale project, and even wrote that she was assisting a non profit, and that any and every discount would be appreciated? I knew that this company was a special one and the Mr. Doherty was sincerely dedicated to helping the students at Sengdruk Taktse, and reducing carbon emissions worldwide. His technology truly did create a “Greener Energy Solution for the World,” and I knew he was dedicated to that mission (many companies claimed to want to help the world, but didn’t want to work with foreign countries/beneficiaries). So, after speaking with him over the phone, I was certain that Solar Air Heating Solutions was the company that was right for my project.
Now, I’m in the process of getting window dimensions/photographs and shipping information. Luckily, there are two 2009 graduates from USC who are currently at the school, who should hopefully, in the next two days, measure the south-facing windows and take photographs for me to send to Mr. Doherty, so we can complete the next stage of the process.
Also, shipping has proven to be a bit of a problem. My contact in the US, Jacob Archuletta, said that he sent a large envelope to the school and it arrived in one to two weeks, but, he sent a small letter to the school that never got there. Once I hear back from the school, we will be able to determine the best manner of shipping (maybe shipping the heaters to Qinghai’s major city of Xining, and having someone from the school travel to pick up the heaters from Xining).
For the time being, that’s about where I am at with this project. I am truly grateful to Mr. Doherty and all at Solar Air Systems for their assistance and kindness. I am getting very excited for the upcoming trip (I depart on August 1st from JFK, arrive in Beijing on August 2nd, fly to Xining on August 4th, and then travel about 12 hours by car to the school in the town of Darlag). I depart from Xining on August 18th, and am back in New York on August 20th. I am truly overjoyed at the technology the school will soon have. Seeing as though the school heats and generates electricity both with coal (they thousands of pounds of coal each day!), minimizing the amount of central heating they will have to output by supplementing it with solar heat. It is a very exciting time for the school, for me, and for all who I know.
I will keep all updated on the progression of this project. I will be photographing and filming the installation and usage of the heaters (as well as my entire trip there), and look forward to sharing it with you all.
I’ll write again soon!
Karlee Blank
Hello Again,
As I glance through pages and pages of google search results pertaining to a search of “Solar Technology,” I cannot help but note the increasing concern for our fellow man’s concern for the world we all, together, share. I see this as the second age of environmentalism, a revival of the environmentalist movement of the 1960s. Is Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” the metaphoric equivalent of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” in promoting a green agenda? I think so. Carson helped start the environmentalist movement and mobilized youth and adults alike against the use of DDT, pollution, and pesticides, and eventually, both directly and indirectly, helped illegalize or minimize the use of these chemicals. Comparatively, Gore, with the help of a movie and a book, truly propagated the global warming issue and brought it to a mainstream audience. He has made people across political, racial, and national lines care about CO2 emissions, our rapidly degrading ecosystem, and overall exploitation of the world.
Consequentially, missions and objectives that were formerly obscure and of limited interest to the masses are now hot topics. Take this blog for example. It’s essentially a network of people in favor of solar technology. And this network is not limited to conventional county, state, or national lines. I am in New York, sharing tales of a project for a California-based non profit, that runs a school in Western China for Tibetan nomadic orphans. I will be bringing to the Sengdruk Taktse School Solar Window Heaters from Solar Air Systems, based out of Massachusetts, and solar lighting technology from China and Germany, sold by an Australian organization concerned with rural electrification.
Allow me to digress. This is philanthropy facilitated by globalization. Though some are disenchanted with globalization, I think it has done wonders for the non profit and humanitarian rights sector. The fall in prices of high technology allows for the rise of the proletariat, especially in rural areas, as concerned members of other nations facilitate the procurement of technology for isolated communities, at an affordable rate. We are able to, through the rise of Internet technology, cosmopolitanism, and globalization, see things that were once so far from our land that is was hardly a concern of ours. Now, we can see film of the movement in Iran, the conflict in Burma, and other movements geared towards promoting greater democratic freedoms.
I mean heck, more and more folks these days are concerned for their fellow man, and the overall state of our collective environment. I am a member of Columbia’s varsity lacrosse team, and my coach told the media department about my trip. Now, they’re intending to run a story on their website about what I’m doing. Though I’m not someone who clamors for attention such as this, I am very excited at the opportunity that this can offer to Sengdruk Taktse, and Solar Air Systems. Hopefully, this publicity will bring to an even greater audience the benefits of implementing solar technology, and helping your fellow man. Even though this has absolutely nothing to do with sports, it is still of interest because people now care about taking action towards alleviating poverty. With the publicized quasi-failure of foreign aid to struggling nations, we have entered an age in which individuals, and small businesses alike can truly impact the world for the better.
With the recent political change in America and increasing federal concern for the world around us, more and more people will turn to solar technology as a relatively simple and cost effective manner of decreasing their impact on the world, helping to reverse the looming environmental crisis. If you don’t have the ability to install thermodynamic or photovoltaic solar technology, contribute what you can to alleviate the heating and polluting of the world. Lobby your representatives to take a stand in Washington and your state capitals to commit to making serious change, by further alleviating the financial barrier for lower and middle class citizens to instate solar technology by offering greater tax breaks. Donate to a sustainable effort, turn off the lights when you leave the room, use high-efficiency appliances, and recycled goods whenever possible. As the old adage goes, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.
Thanks for reading,
Karlee Blank
“A Peaceful [Yet Polluting] Rise”
I consider myself to be a bit of a Sino-philiac. I am fascinated by all things pertaining to Chinese party policy and politics. When I took a course on Chinese foreign policy this past semester, I realized that China‘s favorite phrase for its emergence onto the world scene is a “Peaceful Rise.” This is characterized by a Chinese foreign policy that casts China as a responsible world leader, emphasizing soft power tactics, and committing China to resolving its internal strife before intervening in global affairs. However, their “Peaceful Rise” is creating some controversial environmental spillover effects. China argues that their economic development is inherently connected to a rise in emissions… they cannot further develop if they cannot endlessly emit pollutants, because all of the world’s current industrial powers were allowed to pollute at their own rate, without restrictions. They believe limits on restrictions will limit their rise.
The PRC recently outpaced the US as the leading emitter of carbon dioxide. China’s status as the leading CO2 emitter has caused political strife between G8 members and China (who claims to be representing the developing world), especially in reaching an agreement on reducing emissions. A recent LA Times article entitled, “US, China try to reach accord on reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” highlights the problem.
China is making the argument that industrialized nations such as the G8 members should take the lead on reducing emissions. China and other emerging states do not want to commit to specific goals to reducing emissions, claiming that emission reduction requirements are attempts by wealthy nations to limit their growth. Meanwhile, China has called industrialized nations to reduce their emissions by 40% below the 1990 level by 2020 (Pierson).
Beijing is trying, though. They have increased their wind power by 100% in each of the past three years, and intend to use $462 billion to boost renewable energy usage, specifically solar power capacity, by 2020.
China has two major issues in the energy sector. The first is regulatory. Instead of conforming to laws calling for cleaner energy and reduced coal use, many of China’s leading producers choose to pay the fine for violating these laws, because it is cheaper than it is to “green” their technology. Other companies and individuals simply do not have the funding to implement such technology (such as the Sengdruk Taktse school…they want to cut back on their coal reliance, but lack the capital to do so). The other major shortcoming is China’s reliance on domestic wind and solar manufacturers. China is the leading producer of PV panels, but 95% of those produced are exported. If the Chinese reached out to foreign producers, they could obtain solar technology without compromising their domestic plants and correspondingly, their economic growth (plants will make more money selling solar technology to foreigners than to Chinese consumers). American suppliers will conversely make a greater profit selling to Westerners than to the Chinese, but as the standards of living in China rise, Americans will have increasing opportunities for economic success in China. Though it is a slippery slope, we must have a more multilaterally globalized market for green technologies, rather than a unilateral pattern in which countries with inexpensive labor and materials export technology to countries with pricier labor and materials.
The reason I write about this is because it is technology such as that of Solar Air Systems that China and other developing nations should pursue. It is relatively inexpensive, readily available, and quickly ships out. However, many Americans are apprehensive to ship to China, understandably nervous about manufacturers copying their designs, and replicating them for a fraction of the cost.
This issue of intellectual property rights must be navigated by the proper authority, and will undoubtedly limit Chinese access to, and usage of, American and other Western technologies for the time being. The WTO should make progress in extending TRIPS protection to solar technology before it is too late. What it all comes down to is profitability. Hopefully, the bureaucratic piece of the puzzle will soon be resolved, for the world waits, holding its breath (for fear of releasing yet more CO2 into the environment!) to see realistic commitments to reducing CO2 emissions in every country, regardless of socio-political-economic standing.
Implementing solar technology at the Sengdruk Taktse school will be a great test of solar’s effectiveness in China, and it is a generous display by Paul Doherty, CEO of Solar Air Systems. This solar switchover is an example of individuals trying to minimize emissions. Our governments would not have to painstakingly debate emission caps if individuals with the financial ability to supplement with green technologies did so. This is a great step in the right direction for a greener future throughout the word.
The windows at the school are much larger than I anticipated, 175 cm long by 175 cm wide, but offer an incredible opportunity for solar window heating. They have excellent access to sun throughout the day, and are large enough to capture a great deal of radiation at one time. I will be at the school in a little over two weeks and cannot wait to implement the solar heating unit, and I know that the students and administrators are equally excited for this technology which will help supplement their currently unreliable heating system.
Thank You For Your Time,
Karlee Blank